• IWA Anthology, "Many Voices, One Faith" is on sale NOW! List Price for Paperback is $11.95.The Anthology is available from IslamicBookstore.com, Amazon.com USA-UK, and Safa Bookstore-UK. Paperback copies are also available for ordering at woodad@mindspring.com
   

• The IWA has a new web administrator:  Sister Anisah David.  The members of the IWA extend thanks to Sister Pamela Taylor who formerly served as web administrator.  Her tireless efforts and expertise are appreciated.  May Allah (swt) reward her/Ameen.
   

• The second edition of Islamic Ink was published in January.

1. Sister Mariam Akabor has been asked to contribute to a collection of stories for children, ages 11+, who struggle with English as a first language in South Africa.
    

2. Sister Widad (Linda Delgado) announced that she received a copy of the Arabic translation of the first book in the Islamic Rose Books series, The Visitors.  Plans are being reviewed for e-book and print version of the Arabic translation.  Insha Allah the remainder of the books in the series will also be translated into Arabic.
    

3. Sister Aaminah Hernandez is hosting the upcoming Erase Racism Blog Carnival #9 that will be hosted at her blog.  If you’d like to submit for this carnival #9, being hosted at the WriteousSisterSpeaks blog, please click on http://blogcarnival.com/bc/cprof_303.html and submit your post by February 17.
    

4. Sister Widad (Muslim Writers Publishing) has been busy developing the Islamic Schools Marketing Project. 
    

5. Sister Widad has created a page at Muslimspace.com.  Please visit at the following page:  http://muslimspace.com/Linda_Delgado_Widad
    

6. Sister Najiyyah Umm Waheeb will be assisting Sister Widad with marketing tasks for Muslim Writers Publishing.
    

7. For all you Echoes fans:  The publishing and release of Sister Jamilah Kolocotronis’ third book of her Echoes series, Turbulence, should be announced by mid March at the latest!  The fourth book of the series, Ripples, is right on the horizon. 
    

8. Sister Widad’s company, Muslim Writers Publishing, is working on publishing, Power Poetry for Wide Awake Youth by Brother Habibullah Saleem.  The book will include 6 original  B&W designs created by Optimize It. Designs.
    

9. Sister Widad’s company, Muslim Writers Publishing, is in discussions with an illustrator to create and publish coloring books with short stories for Pre K to 2^nd grade level children. 

1. Sister Christine (Amina) Benlafquih had the cover story in Islamic Horizons, January/February issue, Runaway Weddings. 
    

2. Sister Umm Juwayriyah’s short story, Choices, (part 1), was published in Nisaa’ magazine.  This short story won the prize in Nisaa’s contest in the “youth over 25” category. 
    

3. Sister Safiyyah’s article, New Muslims and Non Muslim Holidays was published on IslamOnline.net.
    

4. Sister Pamela Taylor had an essay published on This I Believe.org
    

5. Sister Fatima Asmal has completed her Honours in Culture, Communication and Media Studies.  She is nearing completion of her participation in the Deedat biography.
    

6. Sister Anisa Abeytia’s article, Nourishing the Muslim Body was published in Illume.
    

7. Sister Mahasin Shamsiddeen went to Hajj, Alhamdulillah.
    

8. Sister Corey Habbas won the Andalusia prize for her poem, My Optimism About Beruriah.
    

9. Sister Anisah had an article published in Radiance Weekly.

1. OV Books Announces Its Third Title!
   
   OV Books, the book imprint of Other Voices magazine (and publisher of the acclaimed short story collection SIMPLIFY by Tod Goldberg), will consider short fiction submissions for its third book, a cross-cultural anthology titled A STRANGER AMONG US.  The book will be distributed by University of Illinois Press and will be released in late 2007.
   
   A STRANGER AMONG US will focus on stories of cross-cultural collisions/bonds, encompassing a wide variety of ethnicities, races and nationalities.  Any work that tells the story of what happens when a member of one culture finds him/herself in relationship with members of an "other" culture is eligible.  (Jhumpa Lahiri's "The Third and Final Continent" would be an excellent example of this  theme.)  Other, hypothetical examples of plots might include:
    

   • A Brit living in Thailand

   • A Native-American college student at an Ivy League university

   • An African-American family moves to an all-Caucasian suburb

   • A gay man on a dominantly heterosexual sports team

   • A wedding brings together a Latino family and a Jewish family

   • A Muslim academic goes to the American South for a conference

   • A Nigerian woman and African-American man meet on Match.com

   
   The sky is the limit!  Writers of all ethnicities and races are eligible. 
   Writers do not need to be of the same "group" as the characters they are writing about; the only criterion is excellence of the fiction submitted.  Writers should avoid "editorializing" or political preaching in their stories, and focus on the dynamics of character and plot, letting the cultural issues rise organically from the material.
   OV Books will read submissions from June 1 to FEBRUARY 28TH (DEADLINE EXTENDED!).
   No entry fee.  Enclose SASE for response only.  One story per writer, unless invited to submit more work.  No emailed submissions, please.  8,000 word limit.  Previously published pieces are eligible.
   
   Mail to:
   OV Books
   Department of English (MC 162)
   601 S. Morgan Street
   Chicago, IL 60607
   Inquires should be directed to othervoices@listserv.uic.edu
   othervoices(at)listserv.uic.edu
   (replace (at) with @)  
   We look forward to reading your work!

2. CALL FOR PAPERS

Network 2000:  In the Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance welcomes submissions (3-5 pages) for consideration and possible publication in the next issue, which will be published online. Topics include:  Voices from the African Diaspora; Networking in Africa and the African Diaspora; Collaborative Projects among Scholars in Africa and the African Diaspora; African Studies and African American Studies in the 21st Century. Short fiction and poetry will also be considered.

Langston Hughes Colloquy (LHC) welcomes brief submissions (200-350 words) for consideration and possible publication in the next issue, which will be published online. Topics include: Activism and Black Communities; Mentoring and Academics; New Directions in African and African American Studies; the Langston Hughes Legacy; the Harlem Renaissance.  The primary goals of LHC are to foster a creative forum for intellectual exchanges, promote positive social activism and professional mentoring, and highlight events and publications relevant to the legacy of Langston Hughes. E-mail all submissions for LHC and Network 2000 by 15 April 2007   to: Dr. Sandra M. Grayson        editor@lhcolloquy.com 

--
Dr. Sandra M. Grayson, Associate Professor
Editor, Langston Hughes Colloquy
Editor, Network 2000: In the Spirit of the Harlem Renaissance
Department of English
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Curtin Hall 476, P.O. Box 413
Milwaukee, WI 53201-0413

Tel: 414-229-4524
E-mail: sgrayson@uwm.edu
editor@lhcolloquy.com
http://www.lhcolloquy.com
http://www.uwm.edu/~sgrayson

3. Bismillah

Dear fellow writers,

Asalaamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu,

My name is Na'ima B. Robert, author of 'From My Sisters' Lips' and editor of a brand new Muslim women's magazine, simply entitled 'Sisters'. My editorial team and I are currently looking for feature writers, columnists, and reviewers to feature in our magazine. We are particularly interested in Muslim women writers and artists and want to showcase exciting new talent.

'Sisters' is a Muslim women's magazine whose focus is inspiring Muslim women to reconnect to Allah and to their Islam, to better themselves and their lives holistically and to have a positive impact on the wider community. The publication is stylish but accessible and our voice is intelligent, sisterly and conversational, with a strong Islamic consciousness. If you are able to write clear, lucid prose and produce articles that are well-researched with a professional finish, we want to hear from you.

As each issue has a theme, we are looking for the following to fit in with those themes :

• Personal stories of coming to or returning to Islam

• Personal experiences that have led to Islamic spiritual growth

• Articles on issues of interest to Muslim women in the areas of self, family, community and the world ( e.g. Sisters in Cyberspace, Muslim businesswomen in the developing world, challenges facing Muslim youth etc.)

• Stories of hope from conflict areas

• Profiles and interviews with inspirational Muslim women around the world and practising Muslims making a positive difference to their communities

• General articles on health, wellbeing, exercise and beauty, preferably with an Islamic slant

• Columns, diaries, blogs

• Poetry

• Reviews of restaurants, hotels, travel destinations from a Muslim perspective

• Food, fashion, décor and gardening features with an Islamic twist.
   

Please email info@nbrobert.com with your column and feature ideas or to request a theme list. Please enclose a writing-related CV and your publishing history to date. An example of your writing would be appreciated. All ideas will be considered and you will receive a response within 14 working days.

All contributors will be acknowledged and will retain copyright of their work. They will also receive a year's free subscription to the 'Sisters' magazine. It is our intention to be paying our contributors by our third issue insha Allah.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Na'ima B. Robert
Editor"

4. Sis Rym announces the following:

Hajj might have passed, but its sweetness always remains. Do you have Hajj articles...informative, reflective, interviews, or personal experiences? Whatever it is and whatever you want to write about, we welcome your Hajj contributions for the next issue of I-MAG (www.i-mag.org). Take part in making this a comprehensive Hajj issue whose quality will continue to benefit us years from now whenever Hajj comes.

And here's good news for writers...I-MAG will start paying writers alhamdullilah. But since it's non-profit, there's a condition. In order to get paid for contributions, I-MAG requires you to contribute with a non-paid article first and following that you'll get paid for all of your published articles. So after you contribute for this issue you'll start getting paid for the rest of your articles in the coming issues.

5. An International Competition for Muslim Writers

The headquarter  of celebration of esfahan(IRAN) is going to launch an international competition for Muslim writers with cooperation of child and teenage council and by participation of activistss in child and teenage literature In the year of prophet by internet due to the attribution of this city as the capital city of culture in Islamic world by ISESCO.

Hence, we hereby invite all writers who are professional in child literature to present their works entitled by” MOHAMMAD PROPHET”.

The purpose of this international competition is to encourage writers to create written works with great quality and to set up a basis to present their works in the realm of child and teenage literature.

 COPMPETITION CONDITIONS:

1. Title of competition: Holy prophet life (MOHAMMAD P.B.U.H), his characteristics and features, prophet and children and prophet’s miracles

2. Each writer is allowed to send three stories.

3. Published and unpublished stories are acceptable.

4. Published works should have be written after January1^st 2006

5. Story text should be presented and typed in the size of A4 paper.

6. Stories should be written for child and teenage interlocutors (between 6 to 15 years old).

7. Stories can be written in Persian, Arabic or English.

8. There is no geographical and age limitation for participants.

9. It is necessary to write: name of the writer, title of the story, complete postal address and telephone number at the beginning of each story.

10. Volunteers must fill an application form carefully.

The application form is available in www.icow-esfahan. com.  The last legal time to send works is 04/02/2007.  Result proclaim date: 05/04/2007

COMPETITION GIFTS: 

• Great gift: inscription, inlayed badge and $3000 for the best story. 

• Second gift: inscription, inlayed badge and $1000. 

• Third gift: inscription, inlayed badge and $1000. 

• Persuasive gift: inscription, inlayed badge for 10 people

For more information call :( +98)9131082054

• Sister Anisah David, joined IWA this month.

• Currently IWA has 61 members and associates.

•  Happy Aashura!